It felt like there was a lot going on in 2013, and our selection of the biggest musical surprises is dominated by acts reinventing themselves. We were tempted to include the tale of the Supajam staffer who sat through a whole Robin Thicke gig on Radio 1 to eductae himself on the man's music, only to discover he has just one half decent song, and that’s a bit dubious.

5. Blurred Lines Sells Massively And Gets Censored
Robin Thicke’s sexual harassment-a-thon Blurred Lines sold a huge amount of records, and then allowed British universities to prove they were still capable of reactionary political action by banning it in large numbers. We’re still waiting for the mass sit ins over ATOS.

4. It Turns Out The Fox Says A Lot
If you told us a spoof song about foxes would not only be hilarious once, but actually have smile inducing staying power before 2013 we wouldn’t have believed it. But Ylvis’ What Does The Fox Say wasn’t a dubious viral hit, it was a comedy record of devastating precision.

3. Daft Punk Show How to Release An Album
Having to recover from an album no one gave a fuck about, through the overlooked triumph of Tron Legacy, and into a campaign that combined a superb single and clever planning to turn Daft Punk into superstars. As for the actual music on that album, opinion is divided…

2. David Bowie Returns Without Warning
Bowie came back with a masterful surprise: but how did he pull that one off in this day of immediacy, online rumours and piracy? The thought of live dates has us salivating, and the record itself is stunning.

1.Miley Twerks And Makes Her Money
In an age where careers last hours, Miley Cyrus proved herself the queen of seizing the opportunity, rising above issues of talent and previous reputation by twerking her way to record sales and a fine bank balance.